Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Once again hello and a heartfelt thanks for returning to The Closet Concert Arena fellow progheads! The dog days are here and the prog garden is definitely heating up. This week the search for all things prog takes a look at the newest release from Violent Attitude If Noticed, one of several prog projects led Will Geraldo and Progressive Gears. You may remember our visit with Will last summer as he discussed his many ventures, bands, and music projects.

Setting the GPS for Brazil and this week's journey is underway. Violent Attitude If Noticed, or V.A.I.N. for the acronym-friendly crowd, cuts a fairly wide swath as they roam the prog garden;
post prog/art/post punk according to Will...time to put on the headphones...

The new album, recently released on the Progressive Gears label, is called "Ourselves and Otherwise." If the intention was to stir the proverbial pot; mission accomplished. The first cut teed up is "Time Waster." The opening bass line hits like a soft hammer as it walks you into a percussion outburst; top notes of Joy Division and a hint of Style Council make this an interesting spin around the turntable. The tempo picks up as vocals move in riding on some smooth guitar work and an undercurrent of drum work that is strong enough to carry the music along. V.A.I.N. stalks the prog garden in search of ideas, thoughts, and impulses that can be taken individually and melded into a melange unique unto itself. Will and his bandmates tap on the inside of your skull in an attempt to wake you from your doldrums, not wanting the world to pass you by.

The second song pulsing through the headphones is "The Tower." A more acoustic feel moves in as the the song wraps itself around you...slowly getting your attention as it holds on tighter and tighter. V.A.I.N. continue their trek through your mind, trying to hit the nerve that will jolt you upright, no longer able to remain a mere spectator. There are hints of Camel and slight aromatics of Marillion seeping into your consciousness...

Liner Notes...Violent Attitude If Noticed is Will Geraldo, Guilherme Saba, and Alessandro Queler.
Three musicians who collectively produce some of the more extremely ornate, multi-layered, conceptually thought provoking stuff to emerge from the prog garden. They fill the canvas with more than just blasts of color; the images that emerge sting you like a low tide jellyfish. Looking back at my interview with Will, V.A.I.N. likes to "get their hands dirty" as they dig deep into the rich prog garden soil, unearthing--and talking about--all the things that hide in plain sight. Violent Attitude If Noticed started on a journey in 2008 and their mission is not yet complete...of course that means great prog will continue to flow from Brazil so it ain't such a bad thing...

Violent Attitude If Noticed claws into your conscious thought in an attempt to push you into
action--something the world could use more of in case you have been asleep at the switch these past several months...the planet is like a snake shedding its skin and people are either watching in awe and bewilderment or gearing up for the next phase. Will, Guilherme, and Alessandro chose the latter and believe the best way to build a revolution is to start one...and this is their benchmark.

One more slice of the vinyl for review; "Ever-Ticking Clock." Top notes of Dream Theater from "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" lash out immediately; tension builds from the first note. The guitars work with the drums to create an atmosphere of pressure and anxiety...you're waiting for the unseen blow from the blind side as vocals rain down like a siren song of impending tragedy. V.A.I.N. slices deep--not only this song, but the entire album. It is one thing to paint with dark colors, but to use those sinister hues as a backdrop to a more elaborate story is as refreshing as it is explosive.

Take a moment to explore Violent Attitude If Noticed (if you haven't already) and I feel confident you will come away with a new appreciation for this prog trio. You can start with the post below; "Useless." Don't take the light drum opening lightly; it leads down a path littered with misconceptions and misplaced intentions...what is it they say about the road to perdition? V.A.I.N. continues to poke insincerity and hollow concern in the eye...if you aren't part of the solution then you ARE the problem.

Start the music machine, sit back, and feel your pulse begin to race. Violent Attitude If Noticed is prog making a statement; stand up and be accountable...get involved...if you ain't pissed you ain't awake...there really is a mood for everyone. Hopefully I have not led you to feel V.A.I.N. is just a rant against humanity and all that is sensible--because they are so much more than that. The beauty of this section of the prog garden is the emotions that bore deep and the sense of outrage in regard to everything that runs counter to decency and the good side of mankind...Violent Attitude If Noticed really does care.

And once again fellow progheads The Closet Concert Arena cues up traveling music as the search for all things prog forges ahead. V.A.I.N. is just the top layer to some very rich, fertile soil...the prog garden is filled with bands and artists just bursting with energy and desire, I simply try to give them a soap box to preach from...until next time...

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Hello again fellow progheads and welcome once again to the Closet Concert Arena! The summer of 2017 has proven to be a banner season for the prog garden; so many new bands releasing great material combined with up and coming artists proving their worth with follow up albums that expand both their catalog and boundaries. This week The Concert Closet takes the search for all things prog back to Spain and a whirlwind fortnight with Psicolorama as together we review several new releases that have recently been thrust upon the ears and minds of the masses.

Psicolorama has been filling the prog garden with new sights and sounds--almost non-stop--since the band came into existence. My last review was almost two years ago and since that time their album catalog has grown 4-fold...apparently the studio is one comfy "home" for Manuel Casado and company...

I open the review this week with a cut from the album "Nomadas" released in May; "Some Expectations." A soft acoustic guitar opening bleeds gently into beautiful piano accompanied by a steady bass beat that keeps you on point. The guitar and piano continue to trade velvety smooth jabs throughout. Although on a different plane, I am reminded of Robert Fripp and Soundscapes; perhaps even a gentler version of Brian Eno during his ambient days. Psicolorama leads the mind and soul on a journey filled with soft colors and the occasional horn blast of primary red to hold your gaze...

Next up for review is a cut from "The White Sun" released in January called "Cerulean Skies." Another fine edged gem, this piece has an old school jazz feel as the muted horns start to penetrate your inner ear and vocals pierce the veil and enter your cerebrum; the sing/speak draws you closer to a flame that is felt but as yet unseen. Manuel does so much with so little...the sound is as full as an ELP interlude but the ornate, over-the-top, bomblast is nowhere to be heard. Much like Pink Floyd in their early days, Psicolorama hits the canvas with an array of images and colors outside the standard spectrum...leaving the listener awash in a calming pool of sound...

Another 2017 release, "My Name is Guggenheim vol. 2: Red Cosmic Eye Watching You" contains the terrestrial sounding song "Watching You (Parts One & Two)." In a fashion similar to Seconds Before Landing, Psicolorama has cosmic overtones on this cut as the listener is led down a winding corridor, through an exit door, across a field, and out into the great wide open. This is music that expands the soul. I pick up top notes of The Strawbs in the air and perhaps a touch of Flim & The BB's. Psicolorama uses the minimum to produce the maximum once again. Horns shoot across the top like ocean spray hitting the rocks at high tide. The feeling of being watched is real and almost unnerving; the tension brought on by the vocals as they pierce the veil of drums and keyboards would be frightening if it weren't so fascinating...think back to a horror movie that scared you as a kid; a woman's frightened voice echoing away as the peril moved closer...

Moving to Psicolorama's latest release "No Words," I dig into a serving called "Globetrotter." A retro jazz cafe feel oozes through my headphones--in a Doc Severinsen/Herbie Hancock sort of way. The piano strikes first and you feel an almost instant nostalgia for the carousel at a summer carnival. Psicolorama bounces all over the prog garden with this cut, making the title very apropos. The music seems to strut across your cranium as it enters your auditory canals, leaving an image like an homage to autumn. The album title gives it away--this one is sans vocals--but they really aren't necessary. Manuel & Company fill the canvas with bright colors without using all the sticky gooeyness...just a cacophony of sound. Psicolorama continues to defy the senses as so much clamor and imagery seem to emit from so little a starting point.

Check out the entire Psicolorama catalog at Psicolorama BandCamp and Psicolorama Blogspot. The music is also available at iTunes and Amazon, and of course you can follow on Facebook atPsicolorama FB and Twitter @psicolorama. There are other new releases listed on these websites as well; do yourself the favor of checking them out and making a purchase or two...or four...or more...

I have been a fan of Psicolorama since first hearing "Psico-ReImpression" back in 2014. Psicolorama is prog from yet another viewpoint...I hear the grumblings among some that the prog umbrella is getting too wide but I must respectfully disagree; the prog umbrella needs to continue expanding if prog is to survive, thrive, and grow.

To me the beauty of prog is the wide range of artists and the varied sections of the prog garden that produce such a vast musical landscape. Growth and change are the foundation on which the prog garden flourishes, and Psicolorama is but a microcosm of what that means. New releases that run the gambit of (almost) the entire garden, a different approach on each album release, and with the possible exception of metal, the band has walked almost the entire breadth and width of the genre.

The clip I chose to post this week is from another new Psicolorama release, "My Name is Guggenheim." The song is called "The Naked Room" and as you first enter the orbit this piece resides in, you become instantly transported to a different dimension. The music seems to echo through your mind, bouncing off the sides of your inner skull as a picture of tranquility and unknowing is painted around the perimeter...a mysterious juxtaposition that is calming and unsettling all at once. Psicolorama prefers life beyond the borders of normal and humdrum, straying constantly into the gravitational pull of a galaxy deep in another stratosphere. Stay awhile and enjoy the music--and the view....

Well fellow progheads, we have reached the end of another review. Hard to believe the summer portion of the sand in the 2017 hourglass is flowing so quickly--yet here we are entering August. As I wind up my time in Spain, I am reminded that the search for all things prog has brought me to many remarkable and out-of-the-ordinary destinations; I trust next week will be no exception as the Closet Concert Arena continues on its never ending, always amazing journey...until next time...